The Road to Paradise
by ILoveTrees
Summary: PostHBP.After defeating the Dark Lord,Harry decides he can't live without his family and godfather. But after something extraordinary happens, will Harry finally get his reward? GWHP
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone! I know I should really update The Nameless One before starting a new fic, but this idea has been bugging me for ages. It's an old cliché, but I've added a unique (I hope!) twist to it. Pairings are canon (H/G, R/H etc.) and I refuse to change them.

Don't flame me, but please review and ENJOY!

Queenie

X x X

Disclaimer: Wish I did, but I don't.

**Chapter One – the sword of Salazar Slytherin **

A lone figure stood at the tip of the plateau, his silken black clock flowing out behind him. At his feet lay a body, its red slitted eyes closed forever. The man turned away from it. He had completed his life's task. But now what would he do? Nineteen years old, a war veteran, with no family and no purpose.

"Harry!"

By the moonlight, he could see a group of people were running towards him- the remnants of the Order. They saw Voldemort's fallen body, and they stopped, ecstatic. Harry stayed where he was, a few tears running down his face. Would his so called friends still want him do that Voldemort was gone?

Suddenly a glint of silver caught his eye, coming from beneath his enemy's blood stained cloak. Harry knelt down and pulled it out. He gasped as he realized what he was holding. A long piece of finely wrought silver, deep green emeralds embedded in the handle.

The sword of Salazar Slytherin.

The people around him grew silent as they watched Harry Potter hold the emerald studded sword up. What did he want with it?

But as the moonlight hit the sword, they felt a change in the air and they looked on as if they were in a trance.

Harry gasped as he felt the rush of power that had entered him. The sword grew hot in his hands, but he refused to drop it, gripping hard enough to turn his knuckles white, gritting his teeth as it started to burn him.

And then it stopped.

Shaking, Harry slid the sword into his belt, and turned to look at the others. He didn't know what the sword had done to him, but now he had a clear idea of what he was going to do next.

The Order were fidgeting and staring warily, not knowing what he was going to do. He nodded to them, and they realized Harry was saying goodbye. His eyes lingered on Ginny Weasley, remembering all the happy times they had shared together, the feel of her lips on his. For a moment he didn't want to go. But as he took in Dean Thomas's hand around her shoulders, Harry's eyes turned cold and angry.

Then he looked at his best friends, Ron and Hermione. They were standing close together, holding hands. Ron looked surprised, and Hermione looked as if she was about to cry. But neither of them moved. It was as if they didn't need him any more, not now they had each other.

Next to them stood Remus Lupin. Even after the many years Harry had known him, he still looked the same, except for a few wrinkles and grey hairs. He was watching Harry with a small, genuine smile on his face. He nodded as they made eye contact, raised a hand in farewell.

Harry nodded back, thankful he still had a friend in the wizarding world that would definitely stay by him. Drawing his inky black cloak closer around him, Harry turned towards the mountains and ran away into the darkness without a second glance.

* * *

**Two years later...**

* * *

The sound of chatter and laughter filled the Burrow. The once tatty and shabby farmhouse now gave off a feel of wealth and splendor. After the War, the Weasleys had been restored to their long lost position among the rich pure-blood families like the Malfoy clan...or the Potters.

Across the living room wall hung a massive banner proclaiming "Congratulations, Ron and Hermione!"

The couple in question was currently surrounded by the whole of the Weasley clan and all their friends. Ron was basking in all the attention, but Hermione was trying to duck away from Fleur's over energetic hugs. Molly Weasley was crying with happiness, wiping her tears on her husband's shoulder while he chatted with Bill about plug sockets and extension cables.

"Good one, ickle Ronniekins!" yelled Fred, as George tried to tug a Firewhisky away from his twin.

Ron laughed at his brothers as he took Hermione's hand and kissed her cheek. He could feel the simple diamond that she was wearing on her ring finger, and it made him so happy that he almost forgot about all the bad things that still haunted him day and night.

Suddenly he felt overwhelmed by a sense of guilt. Ron had promised Harry that he could be best man when he got married, but now Hermione had given Dean Thomas that position, and Ron hadn't bothered to object.

Every day since Harry had left, Ron had always regretted not chasing after him. After Voldemort had gone, the Aurors had spent a few weeks searching for him, and then given up. Harry Potter had simply vanished off the face of the earth.

Hermione saw the look on his face and pulled him out of the room into the messy kitchen. She as no longer the bushy haired, bossy girl she had been. Now, at twenty one years old, her hair was long, straight and peroxide blonde and she gave off an attitude of being completely in control.

"Ron," she began imperiously. "Stop beating yourself up. You know we're doing the right thing."

"But what if we aren't? It doesn't _feel _right, without him here."

Hermione sighed. She missed Harry, but never let anyone realize how upset she was.

"Ron, it's been two years. Believe me, Harry isn't coming back. And we can't find him if we don't know where he is!"

Ron nodded as he blinked back his tears. Everyone had been shaken by Harry's disappearance, but Ron had taken it particularly hard. Perhaps the only person who had been more upset was Ginny, who had never been the same since.

He glanced up at the clock that had his family's names on the hands. After the war a new hand had been added- labeled Harry Potter. But it never pointed anywhere, just hovered in between different points. At least they knew that he wasn't dead or injured, even if it didn't give them any other information.

Taking his fiancée's hand, Ron let her lead him back towards the party.

* * *

As soon as Ron and Hermione had shut the door behind them, the youngest of the Weasley children poked her head round the corner. As soon as Ginny saw that the corridor was empty, she crept through the hall towards the front door, only pausing to look critically at her reflection in the mirror.

Black jeans, black sneakers, black shirt, black coat. If Ginny wanted to complete her task, she would need to blend into the background. Ginny worked for the Ministry of Magic, in the Ministry of Defense. Although she had access to the Headquarters, as a Junior Agent she was not allowed to go in the Filing Office- where the Ministry kept their records of everyone in the wizarding world and their location. The records changed automatically, and Ginny was sure she would be able to find out where Harry was.

Ginny yearned to discover where Harry was, but she was not doing this task for herself. No one, not even her parents, knew that the Ministry of Defense was not the only organization she worked for.

For a while after the second war, there had been a desperate search for Harry and other people who had disappeared during the war. But the Ministry needed Aurors to keep order, so everyone went back to their normal jobs, thinking the search had been called off.

But it hadn't. The remnants of the Order had created a new, secret faction of highly trained witches and wizards especially to search for missing people. Ginny had been recruited immediately.

The group – named Alpha One – had been very successful. They had found almost everyone that had vanished in the War. Now they only needed to find out where Harry Potter was.

Ginny shut the door and crept towards the Apparation point. If anyone found out about this, Ginny would be fired and probably sentenced to Azkaban – the Minister would not approve of her attempts to find Harry. The newspapers would have a field day.

But at the moment she didn't care if she was caught – she would do anything to get Harry back. Ginny had spilt up with Dean Thomas and hadn't dated at all since Harry had disappeared. Outside work, she had gone back to being the shy little girl without any friends.

Her hair was dyed a very dark red, dark enough to slip into the background. She was the only Weasley that still lived with her parents, but Ginny only ever went home to sleep. The rest of the time she wrapped herself up in her job.

She squelched through the muddy fields, adrenalin flooding her veins at the thought of what she was about to do. There was no moon visible tonight. The sky was covered with thick black clouds, hovering menacingly overhead. Suddenly a flash of lightning ripped through the sky, and there was a rumble of thunder that shook the ground. Ginny didn't turn back, but broke into a run.

Ginny arrived at the Apparation point and vanished from view. No one realized she had gone, and that was exactly what she wanted.

The red head appeared in the empty reception of the magical Ministry of Defense. She was in a large imposing room. A balcony overlooked it, held up by marble columns, torches flickering around the edges, their flames casting ghostly shadows over the cold white walls. Her black shoes echoed nosily through the room as she walked swiftly over to the gilded staircase.

Ginny reached the Filing Office without any difficulties. From her pocket she pulled a credit card sized piece of plastic from her pocket and slid it into a machine by the door. The machine beeped faintly and Ginny smirked as the door swung open. Moving as fast as she could, Ginny crossed over to the "P's", she yanked it open, searching for the thin file labeled Potter.

"Yes!" she whispered as she pulled out the file. She hoped his records were still there- if they weren't then Harry was almost definitely dead. As she opened the file she gave a sigh of relief- Harry was alive. Then, remembering what she was there to do, Ginny scanned the sheet of parchment.

_**Name: Harry James Potter **_

**_Age: 21_**

**_Location: Borovets_**

_**Fitness Level: High **_

_**Mental State: Unknown**_

Ginny copied down the information at a speed Rita Skeeter would have been proud of. Then she blinked as she took the words in. Where on Earth was Borovets?

* * *

Back at the Burrow, in the empty, darkened kitchen, a hollow clunk echoed through the room, although no one heard it. One of the hands of the clock had moved.

The hand labeled Harry Potter had moved to point at 'Mortal Peril'.

* * *

**Borovets, Bulgaria **

Harry stood on the wooden balcony of his chalet, staring out at the forest of pine trees that looked black against the contrast of the pure white snow. A cold night wind started to blow as he leant closer towards the edge.

If he looked to the right, he could see the tiny ski village of Borovets, a cluster of lights shining brightly. But up here in the mountains he was totally alone, in his tiny chalet that was guarded by thousands of complex wards that made the chalet invisible to anyone but him.

His tailored robes clung to his shivering form, as he tried to steady himself at the thought of what he was about to do. In the past two years he had managed to make a new life for himself. He had a new job, as a ski instructor, and new friends. But he still felt empty. Apart from when he was alone, he lived as a muggle. He wasn't that close to any of his new friends, and none of them had any idea what he had been through.

But most of all he longed for a family. As he thought of his parents, Harry felt a rush of cold determination surge through him.

He held out his arms, as the wind sang to him its haunting song. His bottle green velvet cloak blew out behind him, as if it wanted to fly with the wind. The snow- covered plants that climbed up the walls of his creaking, ancient chalet rustled quietly, as if they were trying reach out and take away his pain.

From his belt, Harry pulled out the gleaming silver sword had that had once been his enemy's. It was embedded with emeralds, its blade lethally sharp. He held the blade up to the moonlight, just as he had done the day he had first found it, lying by his enemy's dead body. The blade became hot in his freezing hands. Now, in his empty house, without any friends or family, Harry would use it to end his own life.

Without the aim of destroying Voldemort, Harry had felt lost. His friends were happy by themselves- and so was Ginny, he thought bitterly. Harry had felt sure he would return, but seeing his old friend with his sort-of girlfriend had made him determined to stay away. If they had ever tried to find him, he would have accepted them happily.

But it was too late for regrets now. His friends didn't need him and the only other people he had ever loved were dead.

So he had decided to join them. Perhaps he would finally find happiness.

Harry wasn't afraid of death, but his hands trembled as he brought the blade down across his pale wrist. Ignoring the burning pain that spread throughout his body, he slashed at his other wrist. Then he dropped the sword, staggering as he collapsed into a pool of his own blood. The sword became cold as soon as he let go of it, clattering to the floor with a sound that shattered the fragile night air.

The wind had stopped now, as if to watch as the savior of the wizarding world closed his eyes for what would be the last time, but not before a smile had graced his lips, lips that were stained with blood.

_Mum…Dad…Sirius………Are you there?_

* * *

What do you think? Please review! 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Not mine

Dedicated to **Unwritten Curse** and **insanityismytrademark** for reviewing the first chapter of this story. I'm trying to write as much as I can before school starts again, so expect another chapter soon, and another chapter of The Nameless One.

Queenie

X x X

**Chapter 2 – the Pendant of Rowena Ravenclaw**

Dumbledore sighed as he placed yet another terrible memory into his Pensieve. On the surface of the silvery liquid he watched as Hogwarts, a school that had been standing for over a thousand years, was destroyed. Students' bodies littered the ground; lakes of blood everywhere. In the corner, he could see the tall figure of Tom Riddle watching. If he looked closely, Dumbledore could almost make out the malicious, wild look in his dark red eyes.

There was a short, sharp knock at the door. Dumbledore waved his wand so that the Pensieve turned blank again. He pushed it under his bed, and watched as the door of St. Mungo's infirmary was pulled open.

"It's alright, James," he called softly. "You can come in."

Cautiously, a small group of people entered the ward, led by James Potter. The Headmaster reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of parchment. His gaze flickered alternately from the parchment to the people around his bed. Everyone on his list was there.

James Potter was standing with his wife, Lily Potter. She had a large gash down her arm - a souvenir from the Battle of Hogwarts. Their three children gathered around them; fourteen year old Evangeline, and sixteen year old twins Jimmy and Nathaniel. Next to them stood Sirius Black, huge circles under his eyes, a haunted look in his blue eyes.

Dumbledore sighed inwardly as he gazed at them. During this war he had been forced to make lots of awful decisions; decisions that would mean life or death. But one fact made Albus sure had, this time, he was doing the right thing. And that fact was that there should have been four Potter children.

On Halloween, twenty years ago, Lord Voldemort had come to Godric's Hollow when Lily and James were out. He had murdered their one year old son, Harry. No one knew why he had done this, but, even twenty years later, the Potter's had never gotten over their grief. Every year, on July 31st, they held a tribute for what should have been Harry's birthday.

The rest of the Potter children also mourned Harry's death. Even though they had never known him, he was still their brother. Evangeline had always wanted an older sibling that she could talk to seriously, and would listen to her. Jimmy and Nathaniel couldn't care less about what she did – they were too busy planning their next prank.

"Albus," said Lily, her voice cracking with exhaustion. "What's going on? Why have you called us here?"

The old wizened Headmaster didn't reply for a moment. He turned to his beside table and picked up a wooden box. Six pairs of eyes followed him. The box was covered in precious stones and gold filigree, but Albus was more concerned with what was inside. He opened it to reveal a shining silver pendant, studded with sapphires and engraved with the letters RR.

"This," he said, speaking more to himself than the people around him. "This pendant belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw herself."

He looked around to see nothing but puzzled gazes directed at him, so the Headmaster carried on.

"Before Hogwarts was destroyed, I managed to salvage the last remaining relic of the four Founders – this pendant. Now, as you know, Rowena Ravenclaw was quite possibly the most intelligent witch there has ever been. But I am sure you didn't know that she was not born in this world. Rowena came from a different universe- a parallel one- by means of this pendant. She did not know how it worked, and spent the rest of her life trying to find out. She never succeeded. But I have."

Everyone blinked, the twins raising their eyebrows skeptically.

"Um, Albus?" James said. "Are you trying to tell us you have created a link to a parallel world?"

Sirius snorted. "I think you've finally lost it, professor. No offence, but you've been fighting this war so long you've finally cracked."

Dumbledore smiled. Even after everything that had happened, Sirius was still the cynical but immature boy he had taught at Hogwarts.

"Perhaps I am less sane than I once was, Sirius. But I still know what I am doing. After the most recent battle, you six are all that is left of the Light side. I am near death, and soon Darkness will reign in this world. After everything you have been through, everything you have done, you deserve a happy ending."

"Professor, I don't understand," said Evangeline.

Dumbledore smiled at her. "You will." He said. "Eventually."

Suddenly a bright flash of light shot towards the six of them from the pendant. Before anyone could protest, they were enveloped in a bright circle of shimmering blue light. But then the light disappeared- taking the Potters and Sirius with them and leaving Dumbledore all alone.

**The Burrow**

Ginny sat in her tiny, messy office/bedroom, bent over the laptop her father had bought her for her twentieth birthday. She opened the Google Search Engine and typed in Borovets.

Straight away hundreds of results flashed up on the results. Ginny clicked on the first one and wanted breathlessly for it to load.

_Borovets, Bulgaria – High Altitude skiing_

_Nestling among pine forests in the beautiful Rila Mountains, this quaint village is Bulgaria's oldest, most established and largest ski resort. The snow conditions are among the best in Eastern Europe. For booking information email..._

Ginny leant back in her chair and raised an eyebrow. It seemed a rather strange place to go, unless he was just there for a holiday. A tiny village in the mountains that was annually flooded with tourists. But Harry had always been unpredictable. And no one from the wizarding world would have ever looked for him there.

The auburn haired girl yawned loudly, and glanced towards the clock. It was three in the morning. The storm that had been raging earlier had calmed, and the guests from the engagement party had left. The only people in the Burrow were Ginny and her parents. The house was silent, the wind blowing softly through the leaves of the weeping willow outside Ginny's window.

An involuntary shiver racked Ginny's slender frame, and she quickly shut the computer down. After pushing stacks of files and documents out the way, she jumped into bed, too tired to get out of her wet, black clothes, or even take her shoes off. But she couldn't go to sleep.

Images of Harry filled her thoughts, just as they had every night since he had left. The look of total betrayal that she had seen in his eyes on the battlefield. His look of pure hatred. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, but couldn't manage to stop a few tears leaking out the corners.

All of a sudden there came a loud bang from downstairs. Ginny snapped her eyes open again, and automatically she rolled out of bed and grabbed her wand in one hand and a baseball bat in the other. Her parents were on the other side of the house; they wouldn't have heard the intruders. She was used to defending the house from Death Eater raids, but she had always been with her brothers or Harry. Besides, the war was over, so who could it be this time?

She winced as the door opened with a squeak, and cursed under her breath as the floorboard creaked gently. But her years of training at the Ministry of Defense were paying off- she crept down the stairs as quietly as a cat, feeling adrenalin flood her body at the thought of a fight.

Through the wooden kitchen door, she could hear several voices arguing. A couple of them sounded familiar, but she couldn't place them. Taking a deep breath, she gripped the baseball bat harder and reached out for the door handle. But before Ginny could go in, the door was wrenched open for the outside.

"I'm telling you, it's impossible! Dumbledore is a lunatic! We couldn't possibly be in-"

Ginny gasped, and backed away, her fingers shaking. Standing in front of her was a man that looked exactly like Sirius Black. He stopped when he saw her, but none of the others had realized she was there; they were still in the kitchen.

"Who-Who are you?" she whispered, her voice wobbling dangerously as she waved the baseball bat in front of her.

The man who looked like Sirius held out his hands in front of him. Moving painfully and excruciating slowly, the man pulled his wand out of his pocket and placed it on the floor.

"Put the bat down. I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Sirius Bla-"

"Siri?" Another man came out of the kitchen. A man that looked exactly like Harry, except he was older, his eyes were hazel, and there was no scar on his forehead. "Where are you? Who are you talking to?"

He also paused when he saw Ginny, choking on his words. From behind him came a woman with red hair and emerald eyes, and three teenagers with a scary resemble to Harry. Ginny whimpered slowly, as her world started to spin in front of her.

"Impossible..." she whispered, loud enough for only Jimmy to hear.

And then she succumbed to the darkness.

Sirius moved swiftly to catch the girl as she tumbled to the floor. He laid her down gently and turned to the others.

"How the hell did we get here?" he asked demandingly. "What's going on?"

No one seemed to know. James crossed the room and knelt down by the young girl's side. Lily came to stand by him.

"If I didn't know better," said James. "I would say this girl was a Weasley. She's got the hair. And this place does look a lot like the Burrow did."

"Who are the Weasley's?" asked Nathaniel. This time it was Lily who answered.

"The Weasleys were one of the old pure-blood families. They hated anything to do with You-Know-Who, and they weren't afraid to say so. Their names were Molly and Arthur, and they had six children, all boys. In the summer holidays, before you children had even been born, Voldemort came to their home and personally killed them – just like he did to Harry. Molly was six months pregnant at the time, with a girl." She took a deep breath. "If we are in a parallel universe, perhaps the Weasleys survived and this is their child."

Her speech was met with an awkward silence. "I guess," she continued. "We should just wait here until she wakes up."

Everyone agreed. Jimmy stared around the room, taking in the other's faces. A similar expression was mirrored on all five faces. A look of hope. Jimmy knew what they were all thinking. If the Weasleys were alive, there was a probability that Harry, and other people they had lost, like Remus, were also alive.

Lily stared down at the girl next to her. She only looked about nineteen, but her skin was pale and drawn. Her all black clothes were soaking wet, clinging to her slender, lithe figure. There were two ruby studs through her ears, and through her thin black t- shirt Lily could see the outline of a tattoo. Strange, she thought. The Molly she had known would never allow any of her children to do that.

Out of the blue, the girl stirred. She opened her chocolate brown eyes and sat up slowly, blinking and shielding her eyes against the harsh light. Then she just stared at them speechlessly.

"Please don't faint again," said Sirius, winking charmingly at her. She didn't smile back at him, just looked dazed and bewildered. "Who are you?" he persisted.

The girl reached a hand up to her forehead. "Who am I? I'm Ginny Weasley! Who are _you_? I thought we'd rounded up most of the Death Eaters! So can one of you tell me what the _hell_ is going on?"

Ignoring all the gasps the adults gave at her name, Jimmy smirked at the pretty girl. "We'd quite like to know the answer to that question too."

Ginny gave a startled yelp at the sight at him and backed away. "Bleeding Hell! I could have sworn you were Harry then!"

The smirk disappeared from Jimmy's face at the speed of light. "Are- are you talking about Harry Potter?"

Ginny paused, taking in everyone around her properly for the first time. The expression on the traveller's faces was one that you only used when you talked about the dead. "Tell me your names. Tell me what you are doing here."

Jimmy turned to his parents.

"They are my parents, Lily and James. That's my sister, Evangeline," he said, "I'm Jimmy and this is my twin brother Nathaniel. We're all Potters. Oh, and this is my godfather, Sirius Black. Back in our world, the six of us, plus Dumbledore, were the only people left of the light side. We were in St. Mungo's, and, I'm not sure what happened, but-"

He stopped, as if he didn't know how to explain it, so Lily continued for him.

"Dumbledore had with him a pendant. He said it had belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw. He said he was going to send us to a place where we could be happy, a parallel universe. Then this blue light came out of the pendant and we appeared here."

Ginny took a shuddering breath. "Prove it. Sirius, turn into your animagus form. That's one thing a Death Eater can't fake."

Sirius nodded grimly. He didn't know how this girl knew about him being Padfoot, but he thought it safer to do as she said. Silently, he turned into the huge, Grim-like dog, and ran around the room, then turned back into a man.

"Well?" he inquired softly. "Do you believe us now?"

Ginny leant back against the wall. "Oh, Merlin," she sighed. "Why do these things always seem to happen to me?" Then she leant forward. "Are you saying that in your world your eldest son Harry is dead, and Voldemort has won?"

"_Yes_," said James. "But what happened here? By the way you spoke, we are dead, but what happened to Harry? How powerful is Voldemort?"

"Well, in this world there was a prophecy made by Sybill Trelawney. It went, _'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives.. The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...' _The prophecy could only apply to two boys. Neville Longbottom and...Harry. Then, on Halloween, when Harry was one year old, Voldemort came to your house, Godric's Hollow. He had only heard the first part of the prophecy, and wanted to kill Harry before he could become a threat. James was killed fighting him, and Lily died protecting Harry. Then Voldemort went to kill Harry. But because Lily had died to keep Harry safe, the killing curse rebounded off him. Voldemort lost all his powers and Harry was left with nothing but a lightning bolt scar on his forehead."

Ginny stopped, exhausted from speaking. "I'm sorry but I – I don't think I'm the right person to tell you what happened afterwards."

Then Evangeline spoke for the first time since Ginny had woken up. "If you don't want to tell us what happened, can you at least tell us where Harry is?"

Ginny looked up at them and Evangeline had to hold in a gasp at the hollow deadened look that had appeared her eyes. What could have happened to Harry?

"I-I don't," began Ginny. "I don't know where he is. He disappeared about two years ago, and we haven't heard from him at all."

PLEASE REVIEW! I hardly got any reviews for the last chapter, and I really enjoy reading them. I don't mind constructive criticism, and it'll only take a second. Pretty Please?


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

Sorry I've taken so long to update, but I only got back from my holiday a few hours ago. I'll try to update sooner. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. You make my day!

Queenie

X x X

* * *

Evangeline sat on the stool by a mahogany dressing table, brushing her silky blond curls as she gazed at herself in the mirror, emerald eyes gazing back at her. In this new world, everything was so different. The only thing that had stayed the same was her.

She was in one of the many bedrooms at the Burrow, sharing with her mum. Ginny had warned them not to touch any of the numerous cardboard boxes scattered around the room- in them were probably supplies and new products for her brother's joke shop.

After their late night discussion, Ginny had made the exhausted travelers go to bed, promising that in the morning she would take them to see an old friend of James, Sirius and Lily – a man called Remus Lupin. Evangeline couldn't remember him, as he had died when she was she a toddler. But her dad and Sirius never stopped talking about what the three of them had done at school, as the Marauders.

Ginny had said that Remus was the best person to tell them what had happened to Harry. But how would Remus react to actually seeing people who he had thought dead for two decades? People who had been his friends?

The sun was shining brightly through the attic window, and it seemed just like an ordinary day. But it wasn't.

Evangeline sighed and crossed over to the bed, where there were some of Ginny's clothes laid out on the bed. She quickly pulled on a pair of tight black jeans and a green wooly jumper, then slipped on a pair of white sneakers and ran towards the door. Everyone else had already gone down for breakfast, and by the shrieking noises that had shaken the Burrow half an hour earlier, Ginny had already re-introduced the others to Molly Weasley.

She made her way down to the kitchen that they had arrived in last night. Around the large table sat Sirius, her dad and her brothers. They were all chewing on bacon and eggs, and none of them bothered to greet her.

Her mum was standing by the roaring stove, chatting happily with a short, plump woman with flaming red hair that was flecked with grey. Lily spotted her and waved her over.

"Honey, this is Molly Weasley. She was a very good friend of mine a long time ago. Molly, this is my youngest child, Evangeline. She'll be going into her fourth year at Hogwarts."

Evangeline gave a small, shy smile and held out her hand for Molly to shake. But Molly didn't take it. Instead, she enveloped Evangeline in a tight hug.

"It's so great to meet you, sweetheart. And you're so beautiful, so much like your mother – and so much like Harry!"

Evangeline could feel her normally pale face turning red, although she didn't know if it was from embarrassment or lack of oxygen. Her mum's face had turned red too, at the mention of Harry. Luckily she was saved by the arrival of Ginny. Molly released her only to sigh at her daughter's outfit.

Ginny was wearing a bright red tank top that clashed brilliantly with her hair and a pair of skin tight blue jeans. She had exchanged the studs in her ears for large gold hoops and now her arms were bare, Evangeline could see the tattoo on her arm. It was of a sleek black jaguar with piercingly bright eyes. The tattoo seemed so real - those eyes seemed to be watching her every move.

Molly Weasley sighed again, so loud that James and the others tore themselves away from breakfast to see what was going on.

"Oh Ginny, I wish you hadn't gotten that tattoo. It completely ruins your perfect skin, and I'm sure you _knew_ your relationship wasn't going to last. We were in the middle of a _war_, Ginny – you haven't heard from him since it ended - I don't know _what_ you and Harry were thinking -"

She broke off as she noticed all of the Potters – plus Sirius – staring at her and Ginny with interest. Quickly, Mrs. Weasley turned away and started noisily putting pots and pans into one of the many cupboards, as James and Lily exchanged puzzled glances. What did that tattoo have to do with Harry? And what had happened between him and Ginny?

Evangeline sat down next to Sirius, and Ginny (who was acting as if nothing had happened, although her face was as red as Evangeline's) sat down next to Jimmy. The blond haired teen smirked as her brother almost choked on his bacon – Jimmy had always had a weakness for redheads. Then an awkward silence filled the room.

For a few minutes the only sounds heard were the clinks of cutlery as everyone finished their food. James was the first to finish, and he waited impatiently for the others.

Molly had been extremely happy to see James again, but James was worried that Remus would not be as accepting – he had always found it hard to make friends. Remus had always had a hard time, being a werewolf, and in his world he had been killed for not siding with Voldemort. James hoped this world's Remus would not have been made to suffer as much.

The six travelers had only been in their new world for a few hours, and it still felt unreal – as if they were dreaming. Jimmy and Nathaniel seemed unbothered, but inside they were reeling. They had grown up in a world ravished by war, and so many bad things went on around them that they learnt to hide their feelings, to bottle them up. Now they were in a world where everything could be perfect – they could go back to Hogwarts, see people and friends who had died, and best of all, their parents would be happy again. Because they would have Harry back. He might not be with them at that moment, and the twins knew it would take a long time before everyone was content. That was the great thing about this new world – anything was possible.

Soon everyone had finished their breakfast. After gathering up the plates, Ginny lead them down the overgrown garden to the Apparation point. As three of them were underage, Ginny had spent the rest of the night making a Portkey, which she promptly took out of her pocket – one of Arthur's Muggle rubber ducks.

"Remus lives in a Muggle neighborhood, so his fireplace isn't connected to the Floo Network. We'll Portkey to just outside the village, and then walk. I've owled him, so he knows you're here. We don't want him thinking we're Death Eaters and hexing us all. Now everyone, gather around- and hold on tight!"

They did as she said, and appeared in a dark brick alleyway. Ginny led them out of it, and they hurriedly followed her down the street. Sirius was at the back of the group, brooding. He had been very close to Remus, and was extremely anxious about seeing him again.

"Why does Remus live in a Muggle neighborhood?" asked James, who was walking alongside Ginny, his arm linked through Lily's. "Then, um, what does he do on the full moon?"

"He takes the Wolfsbane Potion on full moons," answered Ginny. Seeing James's blank face, she explained. "It allows him to keep his mind when he transforms. He lives here because it's a two minute walk away from where his girlfriend works."

James choked, and Sirius (who had been eavesdropping) hurried to catch them up. "Remy has a girlfriend? Who?"

Ginny smirked. "Ask him yourself." She had led them up the path to the door of a terraced house. The house was quite small, but the grass had been freshly mown and the whole place looked homely and friendly. It reminded James of the Burrow. Ginny rang the doorbell and Sirius felt growing apprehension in his stomach, as if he had eaten a load of rocks for breakfast.

The door was pulled open, but it wasn't Remus who stood behind it - A young woman with big, china blue eyes, a pale heart-shaped face and shoulder length pink hair was standing there with a large smile on her face.

"Wotcher, Ginny!"

The young redhead laughed as the woman pulled her into a friendly hug. "I didn't know you were here, Tonks! Did Remus get my message?"

The strange looking woman's smile faltered as she glanced at the Potters, and then Sirius, who gasped in surprise. Tonks's grin faded completely and Nathaniel thought he could see her lower lip start to tremble. She opened her mouth slightly, as if to say something, but no sound came out.

"Tonks...that was my cousin's name... but then, you must be ... Nymphadora? Is that you?"

Tonks immediately stopped looking as if she was going to cry. She reached out and whacked Sirius, who had spoken, over the head.

Hard.

"Don't call me Nymphadora, Black!"

The tension that had been hanging in the air like a heavy fog suddenly cleared, and after hugging Sirius and being introduced to the younger Potters, Tonks lead them inside, to wait for Remus. As they entered the house, Sirius fell into step with James and whispered in his ear.

"Looks like old Moony is doing alright for himself, don't you think? Hot girl, nice house..."

James nodded in agreement as they entered the living room. The décor was quite similar to the Gryffindor common room. The walls were red, but the pale gold carpet could hardly be seen through all the mess – piles of paperwork that had fallen off the big wooden desk in the corner, old copies of Witch Weekly and piles of clothes no one could be bothered to put away littered the floor. Lily pushed volumes I and II of _Advanced_ _Magical Theory_ out the way so she could sit down on a battered leather armchair.

"Remy just got an urgent call from work. Something important about the case he's working on. He should be back in a few minutes," said Tonks, exchanging significant looks with Ginny, who nodded gently in return.

"Where does he work?" asked Sirius, eager to find out more about this world's Remus. Tonks wriggled uncomfortably in her chair and stared helplessly at the ceiling, as though the answer to his question might be written there.

"Ummm...Special Operations," she said. "I'm not allowed to tell you anything else."

Sirius opened his mouth to complain, but at that moment the door swung open. Standing in the doorway was a man who appeared to be about forty years old. He had sandy hair that was mixed with grey strands and shocked amber eyes. He stood as if frozen, his silken robes windswept from the increasing winds outside.

"Oh my God," whispered Sirius, the only one who seemed to be capable of speech. "_Remus_..."

**Borovets, Bulgaria**

Harry opened his eyes feebly and groaned. It was about midday, and the sun was glaring off the snow so brightly he shut his eyes again. It was only then he realized his suicide attempt had failed - and he had also ruined his favourite cloak. He lay still for a few minutes, before slowly sitting up. He felt weak from blood loss, and his moments were slow and extremely sluggish. Somehow, Harry managed to stagger upright, shivering slightly as snow blew around him. He pulled up the sleeves of his robes and gasped.

On his wrists there should have been two twin gashes where the sword had cut him. But there was nothing there. Something had healed the wounds perfectly- it was as if they had never existed. Harry quickly glanced around him, and what he saw made him sure he hadn't imagined last night. The wooden floor of the balcony was stained with his blood, and so was the snow that had fallen. So what had happened to his hands?

Harry screwed up his eyes against the sun, as he tried to remember what happened after he had fallen unconscious. All he could remember was a blue flash of light and his parents and Sirius disappearing into it. But they had not been alone- there had also been a girl with blond hair and eyes a similar shade to his, and a pair of twins with grey eyes and the famous, black Potter hair. Then he had heard what sounded like a choir of voices, so quiet that he had to strain his ears to hear them.

"Go back," they had said. "Go back, Chosen One. This is not the time for you to pass beyond the Gateway. Go back..."

Harry shivered involuntarily, and quickly stepped into his chalet, closing the wooden door behind him. The Voices had told him to go back to the wizarding world, back to his friends, and back to Ginny. They knew _he _knew that he had to make things right with them, and they weren't going to allow him to die, to end his suffering. Harry didn't think he could go back – he was too scared – but deep down he knew he wanted to.

He had been very cruel and unfair, he thought, to all those who cared for him, especially Ron and Hermione. They had sacrificed so much to help him, and what had he given them in return? Nothing. Not even a 'Thank you.'

It was time to change that.

He made his way into the bathroom slowly, and switched on the shower. Harry peeled off his bloodstained clothes and gratefully stepped into the hot water. He eased his hands through his shoulder length hair, trying to get out the last of the dried, matted blood. After a while he turned off the shower. Draping a towel around himself, he made his way out of the bathroom and over to the large closet in his bedroom.

He dressed in a pair of black jeans and a dark green sweater, and then, glancing out the window to see if it was still snowing, crossed over to the drawers where he kept his vast and ever growing collection of robes – the Bulgarian witches sold them for much less than Madam Malkin. If he was going back to the wizarding world, it was best to make a good impression.

In the end Harry put on a set of velvety black robes, the insides and edges lined with silver embroidery. He pulled on a pair of dragon hide boots, and, tying his hair back in a small ponytail, crossed over to his weapons cabinet.

During the war, Harry had been trained in sword dueling as well as magic. Over the years he had accumulated a huge collection of swords, and now he didn't feel safe venturing outside without one. He briefly considered taking Salazar Slytherin's sword (it always made him feel in control), but eventually decided on an unremarkable silver one that was inlaid with simple silver filigree.

Sliding his highly polished wand into his belt, Harry took a deep breath. He spun around, and then disappeared from sight with a small _pop_.

"...and after Dumbledore was murdered, Harry spent the next two years searching for the remaining Horcruxes. He managed to destroy them all. Then we were attacked by Voldemort, but Harry killed him using Avada Kedavra. We thought everything was going to be fine, but then Harry picked up from under Voldemort's cloak Salazar Slytherin's sword. And for some reason, I don't know why, Harry just took off. We haven't seen him since then."

Ginny shot a grateful look towards Remus through the stunned silence. After a joyful, (and though they wouldn't admit it, tearful) reunion with James and Sirius, he told the Potters and Sirius about the war, their counterparts in this world and everything that had been done at Hogwarts, without saying anything about Ginny's relationship with Harry. No one except Evangeline had noticed the pleading looks Ginny had been sending Remus, and she was very suspicious.

"Oh my God..."said Lily, her face ashen. "My poor baby..."

Sirius just sat still, staring into space. He had thought what he had gone through was bad, but to be locked in Azkaban for twelve years... and then to be killed after only two years by Bellatrix, his own cousin. Two years in which he had been forced to hide, to live in constant fear of being caught and sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss.

The younger Potters were also silent. They just sat and watched as Lily cried gently into James's shoulder, and Remus stared resolutely at the mess that covered the floor.

They must have sat there for hours, and as the wind grew fiercer and fiercer, the sunlight slowly ebbed away, until the room was in a sort of half-darkness. Jimmy blushed as his stomach started to grumble, but Remus gave a small laugh and got up to make dinner. Soon everyone except Evangeline and Ginny had gone into the kitchen, to catch up, discuss Harry and reminisce about their Hogwarts days, and the similarities between their worlds.

Ginny smiled weakly, but she was fidgeting madly and refused to make eye contact with the younger girl.

"So, what do you think about this world? And Harry?" she babbled. "The things he's done are amazing aren't they? Why do you think he-"

"What was up with you and my brother?" interrupted Evangeline sharply. "And don't pretend that you don't know what I'm talking about. I saw the looks you were giving Remus. What was going on with you two?" The blond haired teen leant forward in her seat, fixing the older girl with a fierce stare.

Ginny carried on fidgeting, but when she saw that Evangeline wasn't going to drop the subject, she sighed and rested her head in her hands.

"OK, Evangeline. I'll tell you." She whispered. The redhead looked up and Evangeline was shocked to see silent tears forming in her eyes.

"The first time I saw Harry was at King's Cross. I was ten years old, saying goodbye to my brothers as all they left for Hogwarts without me. Harry came up and asked my mum how to get on to Platform 9 and 3/4. I didn't know he was the Boy Who Lived then, but there was just something about him I was drawn to. After he saved me from the Basilisk in my first year I fell in love with him. But of course, at eleven, I didn't realize it was love. Over the next few years I tried to move on - making new friends, dating other guys. But then in my fifth year, me and Harry started to date. And I felt like all my dreams had come true."

Ginny stopped, breathing heavily. Evangeline moved to sit next to her, and put her arms around Ginny's slim shoulders. "But what happened?" she said gently.

"All the walls I had built up over the years fell down – being with Harry was total bliss. But then, at the end of the year, Dumbledore was killed. At his funeral, Harry broke up with me. He said he wanted to protect me, and then, after Bill and Fleur's wedding, he just vanished, along with Ron and Hermione, to look for the Horcruxes. I still loved him, but I was angry. I got back together with my ex, Dean, to try and make Harry jealous. But instead of coming back after the Battle, he just disappeared again. The look in his eyes... he hates me now, and there's nothing I can do about it!"

* * *

No flames but...

Please Review!!!!!!!!!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: What is the point of this? I don't own Harry Potter, and I never will.

I'm sorry this took so long and is so short, but I just wanted to get it out before you all gave up on me. The next chapter will be longer, I promise!

Thanks for the reviews. Love y'all.

Queenie

X x X

* * *

Remus Lupin groaned as the alarm clock beside him went off. With his eyes still shut, he felt around on the bedside table. Eventually, when he hadn't found the infuriating clock, Remus somehow found the inner strength to open his eyes. 

Standing above him was a rather amused looking Nymphadora Tonks (with her spiky hair sticking up rather comically), waving the clock in front of his face as it continued to ring. Remus groaned again.

"What time is it?"

Tonks rolled her eyes, pushing some of her unbrushed, neon pink hair out of her eyes. After yawning a few times, and then switching the shill alarm clock off when she was sure Remus was awake, she replied.

"It's six o'clock. You know its six o'clock. You've been getting up at six for the past three years. What's so hard about today? I thought you'd be happier, now you've got your best friends back!"

Remus rolled out of bed - wincing at the coldness of the timber flooring - and staggered over to his old wooden wardrobe. He pulled out a pair of simple grey robes and started to dress.

"I know, I know. And I _am_ happy. But an alternate universe – it's totally insane. And what about Harry? What's he going to say when he finds out? I mean, it'll be hard enough for him getting used to _us_ again – but his _dead_ parents, _Sirius_ – and siblings that never even existed in this world...how's he going to cope? If he even comes back at all?"

Tonks sighed. She walked around to where he stood and wrapped her arms around him, eyes closed. The two of them stood there for a moment, still. Just enjoying that they still had each other, whatever happened. Remus pulled her closer, and she felt moisture on his cheek.

"Ironic, isn't it?" he whispered, and Tonks heard a slight tremor in his voice. "When Harry was here, Lily and James were dead, and now they've miraculously appeared, and Harry is – gone."

Tonks took a step back and looked into his eyes. "You never know," she said, trying to sound encouraging. "Today might be the day he comes back!"

"Yes, it might," said Remus. "Except that it doesn't seem too likely."

"But," Tonks said, frowning, "I thought now Ginny got you the location files, you would know."

Remus shrugged half-heartedly.

Tonks rolled her eyes again, and stomped out of the room to make breakfast, still in her orange pyjamas. Remus followed, smiling softly.

* * *

"Eva? Evy, are you in there? It's us." 

Evangeline turned around, annoyed about being distracted from her now daily routine of gnome–watching out of her bedroom window. "Come in then, us."

Her older brothers came into the room, Jimmy stopping to make sure the door was firmly shut, and then both of them slumped into worn, velvety chairs beside her. They both looked more serious than she had ever seen them. Before she could begin to ask what had happened, Nate began to speak in a quick, harried voice.

"We were going to the kitchen to try and nick some more of that chocolate cake Mrs Weasley made, but Mom, Dad and Sirius were already in there, with that Remus bloke from yesterday-"

Nate broke off as a floorboard creaked on the landing outside, but after a few seconds of silence, his twin continued.

"Anyway, they'd forgotten to put an Imperturbable Charm on the door, so we decided, you know, that it wouldn't cause too much harm to listen in. And they were talking about Harry. Apparently Remus works for an organization – he called them Alpha One – who tracks down people who went missing in the war. But their main goal was to find, um, well...Harry."

Eva stopped day dreaming and started paying attention. "Well? Have they?"

"They think so. One of the team – Remus didn't say who – works in the Ministry of Defence, so she broke in and stole Harry's location file. No one ever uses them any more, as they're a bit temperamental, but these people figured it was worth a try. But it sounds as if the information is genuine, so-"

The door swung open nosily, and James and Sirius walked in, laughing raucously. The three children jumped guiltily. They had been so absorbed in their conversation they hadn't noticed heavy footfalls coming up the stairs.

"What guilty faces!" James cried as he sat down next to Jimmy, and ruffled his hair energetically. Eva burst into unstifled giggles at the expression on his face.

"You look like such an idiot!" she managed to say.

Jimmy scowled. He and Eva had never been very friendly to each other and now they were starting to settle into a simple routine their old rivalries had started to surface again.

"At least I can brush my hair, which is more than I can say for your nose, Snape - Spawn." He replied meanly. Severus Snape had been their old Potions teacher, before Hogwarts had been destroyed. It was true that Eva's nose was unfortunately large, and she was very sensitive about it.

Eva turned Weasley red, but before she could retaliate, James interrupted.

"_Anyway_, we've been sent by your mother to tell you that she's going to Diagon Alley in about half an hour and you can go with her if you want. Me and Sirius are going – we want to visit Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. So, are you coming?"

Everyone nodded. Diagon Alley had been one of the few places that hadn't been destroyed in their world, and they wanted to see if it was any different. They also needed to buy new clothes – over the past few weeks they had all been wearing old hand-me-downs of the Weasley children.

The kids all went off to get ready, leaving James and Sirius alone. Strangely, both of them were silent – normally they both had so much to say it was a competition to see who could get everything out first. So they just sat in silence, thinking. Harry, Remus...a world without Voldemort. Sirius turned to James with a brotherly grin, and James grinned back. Whatever might happen, they both knew they would do anything to make their lives in this world work.

* * *

Harry strode through the busy crowds of Diagon Alley, sensing the suspicious glances aimed at him. He probably did look rather questionable, he thought, with the hood of his black cloak pulled over his head. But he wasn't ready to be recognized, not yet. 

He made his way into Flourish and Blotts, grateful to be out of the sun. With his hood still up, he crossed over to the section on Defence against the Dark Arts and started to browse. After living mostly as a Muggle, he thought it best to revise some of the harder magic. He'd nearly splinched himself that morning trying to Apparate to London.

He surveyed the different titles on the shelf, and eventually chose Advanced Defence Techniques (Intermediate Level) by Miranda Goshawk, and Jinxes for the Jinxed (Volume III), by William Sedgeman.

The shop was very busy that day. What seemed like hundreds of Hogwarts students were wandering around the shop, accompanied by their parents, picking out their books for the next school year.

It was already halfway through August, and the long, hot days the pupils had spent lazing were drawing to a close. Hogwarts opened in just over two weeks, and the days already seemed to be growing shorter.

Harry picked up the books he had chosen and walked to the back of the long queue. There were about five people in front of him, half of them fanning themselves in an effort to stay cool, and the others muttering angrily to each other about the man being served.

Harry craned his neck to see what was going on. All he could see from underneath his hood was a head of long dark hair, and the silhouette of a tall man, who appeared to be flirting with the girl behind the counter.

The woman in front of Harry sighed loudly and irritably, and after a couple of minutes she left and joined another queue. Harry moved up and took her place.

Then he gasped.

The man had previously been in the shadow of the sun, but now he had moved Harry could see his face clearly. And he looked like Sirius had done.

But not exactly the same. The man's face was unwrinkled, apart from a few faint laughter lines around his eyes and mouth, and his deep blue eyes, although they looked haunted in some ways, were now happy and carefree. With neat hair tied back in a ponytail, he looked almost identical to the picture of Sirius from his parent's wedding.

The other people in front of Harry left the line in frustration, and Harry moved until he was standing directly behind the Sirius look-a-like. He could feel his hands shaking, and told himself off for being stupid – Sirius had died over six years ago. Even if it was possible for people to return from the dead, the last place he would expect to see his godfather was in Flourish and Blotts.

Eventually the man finished and he turned to Harry with a grin that was both apologetic and suspicious. "Sorry," he said and walked away.

Harry silently handed his purchases to the pretty cashier, and handed over the money. Then taking the bag she handed him, he quickly walked out into the street.

By now it was midday and the summer sunlight was blinding. Harry stood still as thousands of witches and wizards surged past him in a sea of magic. He kept turning round, looking for that familiar face, an ominous figure in the crowds that reminded people of days of hooded Death Eater attacks.

Harry sighed in disappointment. He had promised himself he would never try to kill himself again, but the need for his family suddenly felt unbearable. Ignoring his still shaking hands and watery eyes, he started down Diagon Alley again.

The number of known faces that were walking past surprised him. He spotted Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan coming out of Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes, Zacharias Smith gazing at a new broom in Quality Quidditch supplies, and even Cho Chang in Madam Malkins.

As he walked, his thoughts turned to Ginny and the other Weasleys. He hoped Ron and Hermione were still together. They made a good pair – they were both strong willed and impetuous, but reliable and open.

Harry felt his stomach growl and realised how hungry he was. He had been feeling too sick to eat that morning before Apparating, so as a result he hadn't eaten anything since the previous day.

While he had been thinking, Harry's feet had somehow carried him to The Leaky Cauldron. Instead of Apparating or Flooing back to his chalet, Harry decided to get something to eat or drink. He could see how Tom the bartender and all his regulars were doing too.

As Harry entered, a familiar smell of burnt food and Firewhisky washed over him. It was the middle of the lunchtime rush, and almost every table was full. It would b impossible, he thought, to spot the Sirius's double here.

So he sat down at the dark, smoky bar, ignoring the dubious smell coming from the man next to him and waited to be served. He felt more at home here than he had all day, and was not at all conspicuous – the veiled witch on his other side was attracting far more attention.

"Can I get you anything, sir?"

Harry looked up into Tom's old, smiling face, and smiled back, even though the old man couldn't see his face from underneath the hood.

"Yes, please," he replied. "I'll have a small Butterbeer."

Tom nodded and clattered away to get it. Harry shifted uncomfortably as he felt the bad smelling man's gaze on him, and prayed Tom wouldn't take long. And indeed, he was back in the next minute.

"That'll be two sickles, please."

Harry handed over the money, and Tom turned to put it in the cash register. Harry was about to pick up his drink when the wizened barkeep spoke again.

"Do I know you from somewhere?"

Harry tensed up again, though it was hardly noticeable through the thick layers of his cloak, and he remembered something Tom had said to him a long time ago. The war was going strong, and he had walked into the Leaky Cauldron in similar garb, for fear of being recognized by any Death Eaters. Tom had immediately known it was him. '"It's a talent of mine,"' he had said, '"I never forget a voice."'

Harry picked up his Butterbeer from the counter, and for the briefest of moments, Tom caught a glimpse of emerald green eyes. Then they were hidden again.

"No." Harry replied. "Sorry." He walked away, and was promptly swallowed up into a labyrinth of people.

* * *

Hope you like it! Please review, even if it's only to say "This is good" or "This sucks!" 


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks so much for all the great reviews! Keep 'em coming!

This chapter is really bad, because I'm crap at writing emotional stuff. Sorry. But I just wanted to get it out before it drove me insane.

Queenie

X x X

Disclaimer: I _wish_ Harry Potter was mine…

* * *

Harry fumbled in his large backpack for the key to his chalet. By the time he had made it back to Bulgaria, the sun had already set, and the mountains were silent. There were no signs of life anywhere, apart from the lights in the village lower down the mountain.

He found the key hidden underneath his new books, and quickly let himself in. The night was bitingly cold, and Harry was glad to be out of it. He slammed the door shut behind him, and made his way into the tiny, cluttered kitchen, dumping his bag on the table, and moving to switch one of the portable radiators on. Soon the kitchen was filled with glorious warmth as Harry started to heat a tin of tomato soup on the old stove.

The silence in the kitchen was starting to get on his nerves, so while he waited for the soup to boil, Harry switched on a wireless that was almost identical to the one Mrs. Weasley had in the Burrow's kitchen.

It was nine o'clock, so Harry decided to listen to the wizarding news. Now that Voldemort was no longer alive, the news was mostly filled with less important things, but, Harry thought, it never hurt to be sure.

**10 minutes later…**

"…and Celestina Warbeck is set to marry her childhood sweetheart later this year…"

Harry sighed as he sat down and began to eat his soup. I might, he thought, go back just to give that Rita Skeeter and friends something new to write and talk about…they need something fresh.

He turned the wireless off after the final bulletin and deposited his bowl in an ever growing pile of dirty crockery. Then he pulled the ink and parchment he had bought that afternoon out of his bag, and started to write to a few of his old friends.

After all, he didn't think it would be _too_ big a shock, just turning up on their doorstep.

_Dear Ron and Hermione (plus anyone else who happens to be there)_

_I wanted to say I'm sorry. _

_I can't apologise enough for what I did. Leaving you all like that, I mean. I just needed a break from everyone and everything that was going on. Um, and it ended up as quite a long one. So…I'm sorry for that. And I'm sorry for not writing to tell you I'm safe or anything. I was afraid of what you might write back. _

_I still am. Afraid, I mean. I hope you all aren't too angry with me. _

_So, you might be wondering why the hell I'm writing to you. Well, you see, something happened to me the other night – something big. And it's made me decide to come back to England. So I was hoping I'd be able to stay with you for a bit. If that's okay. You don't have to say yes._

_Well, I hope I'll see you soon. Write back, _

_All my love,_

_Harry Potter_

* * *

"Hey, kids. What you lot up too?"

The three teenage Potters looked up their parents entered the room. They were sitting in the living room of the Burrow. Eva was reading and the twins were messing around with the Exploding Snap playing cards they had bought from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes.

"What did you do with Sirius?" asked Jimmy, noticing that for some reason Sirius wasn't there.

Lily and James exchanged hesitant looks, and Lily started to speak.

"Sirius isn't here because we needed to talk to you about a few things. Look, you three, it's been a really big shock for us all, ending up here, but we need to try and sort everything out, and try and establish some normalcy. So we've decided that you'll all be going to Hogwarts… in two weeks."

There was a short pause as the children digested what had been said. Then chaos erupted.

"WHAT!" cried Nate, rising from his chair.

"Are you mad?" Eva yelled, her cheeks turning pink.

"Now kids," James said, casting a worried glance at his wife, "let's talk about this sensibly-"

"Yeah, but Dad, think about it!" Jimmy said, coming to stand next to younger sister and brother. "What are we going to say? Oh, we're the Potters, you might have heard of us. We come from an alternative world where most of you are dead and Hogwarts has been crushed to the ground. And then expect them to make friends with us? Yeah, right! That's really going to happen – they'll think we're all insane!"

* * *

Ron stepped into the Burrow's garden early, Hermione close behind him, her head still buried in the pages of a muggle paperback. He had received an apparently urgent letter from his mother, telling him to come to the Burrow as soon as possible. As his father was away on a business trip, he suspected that his mother was just lonely and wanted some company.

His suspicions were wrong.

Mrs. Weasley greeted them in an excited whisper as they walked across the yard. She didn't smother them with hugs, like she did normally, but instead quickly beckoned them into the Burrow hastily.

She led them through and paused outside the living room. Hermione (having put her book away), noticed that the door was closed, although she could hear what sounded like angry voices coming from inside.

Ron frowned. "Mum, what's going –"

Mrs. Weasley shushed him. "Stop asking questions, Ronald!" she commanded, and Ron shut up. "Now," she continued, "there are some people in this room I'd like you to meet. And, in some ways, they've travelled very far, and in others they aren't from very far away-"

Ron interrupted again. "Mum. What the _hell _are you on about?"

"Ronald! Mind your language!"

Ron scowled as Hermione smothered a giggle. Ignoring them both, Mrs. Weasley continued.

"I'm sure it will be a very large shock for you, I know it was for me, but they need to get adjusted to being here as soon as possible, especially as three of them are going to Hogwarts soon. So I called you here because they know they can trust you, and most of all, you know about – Harry."

Hermione winced slightly at the mention of Harry's name. "Molly, just _who _have you got in there?"

Mrs. Weasley smiled vaguely and opened the door. They stepped inside, and she followed them.

Ron and Hermione couldn't believe their eyes.

In the living room stood three children, who all looked flushed and angry, but their gazes flew past them and rested on, although they couldn't quite believe it, two people who looked exactly like James and Lily Potter.

"No," Hermione whispered from where she stood beside Ron. "It can't be." Ron didn't hear her. There was a kind of shocked roaring in his ears, blocking out everything except the people in front of him.

He felt his mother move until she was slightly in front of him and his fiancée. Then she began to speak. "Ron, Hermione, I'd like you to meet James and Lily Potter, and their children Jimmy, Nathaniel and Evangeline."

The mysterious people gave weak, tight lipped smiles and the woman Mrs. Weasley had called Lily looked concerned, as Hermione sank down onto one of the battered sofas, breathing deeply.

"This is impossible!" she whispered. "You're dead! And you…" she said, gesturing to the twins and Eva. "You don't even exist!"

"Um," James began awkwardly. "Er… Well, you see, we never came back from the dead, or anything. We… we come from another universe. Like, an alternate one."

Hermione felt her vision becoming blurry, and she had to cling to Ron for support, even if he had been totally unhelpful so far, by having not said anything. She gestured for him to continue, Ron motionless and shocked beside her.

"The Light side had been losing the war, so Professor Dumbledore used this pendant to send us all here."

Hermione, although still shocked, looked interested. "Really?" she questioned, breathlessly. "What was the pendant like?"

Lily thought for a moment. "Well, I didn't really hear that much about it, but apparently the pendant had belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw. She came from another universe, and was making this pendant so she could get back home. She never finished it, but the Dumbledore in our world got hold of it. He must have figured out how to work, and then sent us here."

"And these are your children," Ron said, pointing towards the three of them. "They would be Harry's brothers and sister. But what happened to your Harry?"

James and Lily stared at Ron. How could he ask such a thing after having only known them for a few minutes? Nate was thinking the same thing, but decided to answer Ron. Letting his parents explain would only send his mum off into more tears.

"Our brother was killed when he was one year old by Lord Voldemort." He spat out defensively. "Not that it's any of your business."

Now Ron looked defensive and affronted. "It's everything to do with me!" he explained. "Harry is mine and Hermione's best friend!"

Then Ron started to look sad, and stared down at his hands. "Well, he _was _my best friend at least. I haven't seen or heard from him since he ran off."

"Of course!" James said. "Remus told us all about you three at school. Well, this is fantastic! We want to find out about him. Everyone's told us about all the stuff he's done, with Lord Voldemort and everything. We couldn't be more proud of him. But no one's told us what he's like, as a person."

Ron smiled softly. "Well," he said. "I hope we can help you with that…"

He started to talk, and James and the children gathered around him. Lily stayed were she was, as did Hermione. Both of them were silent, but they smiled gently at each other.

Lily was almost as shocked to see Hermione as Hermione was to see her. The girl had been in training to be an Auror, with Lily as her tutor for Defence. She had been one of Lily's favourites – friendly, uninhibited and eager to learn, so eager it became annoying at times. And now she was engaged to Ron Weasley! By the look of her, she had grown up lot faster than her world's Hermione. So she wondered if this Hermione would be at all similar.

She certainly looked different. Her hair, although it was still frizzy, was a bright blonde that made her appear confident and intelligent. She also seemed more reserved than the girl Lily had known, but maybe that was just the shock. And her teeth – Lily noted with some amusement that Hermione had performed some sort of Shrinking charm on them. There seemed to definitely be some similarities between the two Hermiones though. Lily noticed a battered paperback book sticking out of the girl's pocket, and grinned mischievously. Some things never changed.

The twins also glanced at her with interest as they listened to Ron, their panic about Hogwarts temporarily forgotten. Hermione was the first person from their world they recognised – Nate and Jimmy had been subjected to her wrath as Gryffindor prefect many times in their first few years of Hogwarts.

The hours passed by, as they listened to Ron's anecdotes about Hogwarts, with Hermione chiming in whenever she felt her fiancé had missed something out. Before they knew it, Mrs Weasley was calling them into the kitchen for lunch.

Jimmy pouted in a good impression of an eight year old. "But I wanted to hear more about the DA!" he exclaimed.

Lily laughed softly, and moved to wrap an arm around her son's shoulders, ignoring his feeble protests. "Don't worry, sweetie. Ron will tell you at lunch."

Then she gasped and brought a hand to her mouth. "Oh no!" she giggled and turned to her bemused husband. "You'd better run upstairs quickly, James. I was wondering why it was so quiet. We forgot to fetch Sirius!"

The others laughed with Lily, and James started up the stairs. Then Nate noticed Ron and Hermione's frozen expressions.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"You mean," said Hermione, just as breathless as earlier. "That Sirius is alive… and you brought him with you?"

Nate and Jimmy nodded in unison. "Um, yes."

The awkward silence was punctured by heavy footsteps and voices on the stairs. Seconds later, James entered, just front of Sirius Black.

"Hello." He said jovially. "You must be Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Harry's friends. It's a pleasure to meet you."

* * *

Hope you like it! Please review, even if it's only to say "This is good" or "This sucks." 


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. So there.

LionOfPerth: Don't worry, now the scene is set you will see a lot more of Harry.

Thanks sooooooo much for all the reviews. I was so happy to read them, I almost cried. That's really sad, I know, but still. And I've just realized that everyone else who writes on this website seems to reply to their reviews. Oops! I didn't know about that. If anyone wants to know more about the fic, just review or email me. Hope you enjoy it!

Queenie

X x X

* * *

Sirius's wide smile slowly faded away as Ron and Hermione stared at him, taking in their identical expressions of shock, grief and he thought curiously, some happiness. Then he remembered.

"Oh" he said gently. "Ron and Hermione … Harry's friends … you would've known me…"

Hermione let out a strangled breath. She ran forwards towards Sirius, and before he could protest, she had wrapped her arms around his shoulders and was squeezing him tightly, her head buried in his shoulder. He could feel her salty tears soak his shirt.

"Sirius!"

Sirius replied with a distracted "Um, yes" as he tried to disentangle Hermione's arms from his neck. Behind her head of blond, bushy hair, he could see his three godchildren (plus James) sniggering at him, and started to turn deep red.

Eventually Hermione realized him and stepped back. She started to go red herself as she took in the three children giggling, and retreated back to Ron's side, muttering "Sorry."

"S'ok" mumbled Sirius. "Don't worry about it."

"Anyway" said Ron, not bothering to disguise his grin. "It's good to see you again, mate." He strode forward and the two men shook hands. "So," he continued. "Shall we go and get some grub?"

The rest of them nodded in agreement and the party slowly made their way downstairs. As there were so many of them, Mrs Weasley had set up lunch in the garden. They all sat down at a large circular table filled with food. Happily, they all began to eat, and everything was quiet apart from the clattering of cutlery.

"Good to see you all tucking in," said Mrs Weasley as she came out to join them, piling her own plate high and smiling round at them all. "It's been ages since I had so many people to cook for. I'd forgotten how much fun it was. If only Ginny hadn't had that silly work conference to go to!"

"Where does she work?" asked Lily, as she nibbled a chocolate éclair. "She's been very busy in the last couple of weeks."

It was Ron that replied. "We don't know that much about it. Gin's rather secretive about her work. But it's something to do with the clean up operation after the war. You should ask Remus about it; he and Ginny work in the same department."

"But we asked Tonks where Moony worked, and she wouldn't tell us. Said it was confidential or something." said James.

"Oh," said Ron. Then he frowned. "Don't really know then. I shall have to ask her when she next drops round."

He nodded to Lily and James as if the subject were closed, but the way he avoided their eyes made them suspect there was something he wasn't telling them.

The midday sun glared in their faces as they ate. Soon, Ron put down his knife and fork and sat back in his chair. Even though he normally ate the most, today he just wasn't hungry. And he wondered how he could be so calm, when the dead parents and godfather of his missing best friend had waltzed in the door a few hours earlier. It probably just hasn't sunk in yet, he thought.

Maybe because James and the twins looked so like Harry, it was almost like having him back. And Lily's eyes were even more similar to Harry's than he thought possible. Except that Lily's didn't look so hurt and betrayed.

Ron tilted his head back until his face pointed up into the sky, his eyes half closed against the glare of the sun. The sky was bright blue and cloudless and there was a slight breeze rippling through the air. A perfect summer day.

"Delicious," declared Sirius. "Absolutely delicious, Molly." Mrs Weasley beamed at him in return.

"So, Ron," said James, turning to face the red haired man again. "Your brothers own a joke shop, right? We were going to go there when we visited Diagon Alley, but Lils here only wanted to visit the 'necessary' shops. Padfoot managed to sneak off, but for some reason he decided to go to the _bookshop_."

Ron chuckled. "Well, don't have any qualms about popping in. Fred and George would be delighted to meet you."

James grinned at him, but then frowned and turned to Sirius. "Really though, Paddy, the bookshop? What's gotten into you?"

Sirius rolled his eyes and shrugged. "I just wanted to get a bit more research on this world's history. You know, previous wars, and some of the recent legislation on creatures like Vampires or werewolves. Speaking of which, you've still got some dodgy characters wandering around. I bumped into some guy covered in a black cloak, head to toe. It was so hot, he must have been melting, covered in that thing. Tried to speak to him, and he wouldn't say a word!"

"Don't be so paranoid, Sirius," said Lily. "Everyone's entitled to wear what they want. And if he was up to no good, he would've been in Knockturn Alley instead of Diagon Alley, wouldn't he."

Sirius grudgingly agreed.

Eva swallowed her last mouthful and put down her knife and fork. "What are you looking for, Mrs Weasley?" she asked, following her gaze.

"I think there's an owl up there. I wonder who it's for; I wasn't expecting any letters."

They all craned their necks to the sky, straining their eyes against the sun. Among the wide blue expanse was a tiny dot that was growing larger by the second. Soon it was big enough for them to make out the shape of a white owl.

"But we don't know anyone that owns a white owl." Ron said. "Except for…Hedwig?!"

Jimmy looked up at the surprise in his voice. "Who's Hedwig?"

No one answered him. "WHO'S HEDWIG?" he asked louder.

Still no one spoke. Jimmy gave up and watched the owl get closer and closer. Ron, Hermione and Mrs Weasley watched its progress avidly.

Finally the owl was circling right above their heads. Then it swooped down to rest between Ron and Hermione. It dropped a letter on Hermione's plate and with a final hoot, flew off. Hermione picked up the letter with trembling fingers. She turned it over to read the front.

_Ron and Hermione_, it read.

She looked up the expectant faces watching her, particularly Ron and Mrs Weasley. "It's from him. It's from Harry.'

Lily sucked in a sharp breath. "From Harry? My–my son?"

Hermione nodded.

"Read it." Said Sirius. "Quickly, read it aloud."

Hermione shook her head, as tears began to trickle down her face and her whole body started to tremble. With a shaking hand she passed the envelope to Ron. His face was ashen, but he slit open the envelope and pulled out the single sheet of parchment out. He cleared his throat, and began to read.

_Dear Ron and Hermione (plus anyone else who happens to be there)_

_I wanted to say I'm sorry. _

_I can't apologise enough for what I did. Leaving you all like that, I mean. I just needed a break from everyone and everything that was going on. Um, and it ended up as quite a long one. So…I'm sorry for that. And I'm sorry for not writing to tell you I'm safe or anything. I was afraid of what you might write back. _

_I still am. Afraid, I mean. I hope you all aren't too angry with me. _

_So, you might be wondering why the hell I'm writing to you. Well, you see, something happened to me the other night – something big. And it's made me decide to come back to England. So I was hoping I'd be able to stay with you for a bit. If that's okay. You don't have to say yes._

_Well, I hope I'll see you soon. Write back, _

_All my love,_

_Harry Potter_

There was a long silence.

"So he's coming back then," whispered Sirius. "My godson…all grown up."

Suddenly Lily pushed back her chair and ran towards the Burrow, choking back sobs. James stood to go after her, but the twins held him back. "No, dad." Said Nate softly. "Mum'll come out when she's ready." James slowly sat back down.

"That was our brother then." said Eva, more to herself than the people around her. "He seems… I don't know. Different than I expected."

"What were you expecting?" asked Ron curiously. Eva didn't reply, and started biting her lip nervously.

"I don't know," she whispered. "Someone braver. More sure of himself…"

Ron gave her a small nod. "He wants us to write back. What should we say?"

Hermione wiped away her tears and sat up. "We should...um…I think we should just tell him that he's welcome to stay, at our place or the Burrow, that something big has happened here too, and he can stay as long as he wants. And that we aren't angry with him, and we've missed him so much."

Ron agreed and glanced at the Potters, his mother and Sirius. "That okay with you?"

They nodded, apart from Sirius, who had rested his head in his hands and seemed oblivious to everything that was going on around him. Ron glanced at him with worry, and his eyes flickered questioningly towards James, who motioned that Sirius should be left alone until he wanted to help. Anyway, from what Ron knew, Sirius wasn't very good at letter writing.

He pulled his wand from his jeans pocket and silently Summoned some quills, ink and parchment from the house. Then Ron placed them in front of Hermione. "You should write it." He said. Then he turned to the others; "she's better at it than I am."

Hermione poked him good naturedly with her quill, and then started to write.

_Dear Harry, _

_It's so good to hear from you! We've missed you so much these past two years, it's been indescribable. Don't worry, you big idiot, we're not angry with you at all. We understand how you needed to get away from everyone after the war. _

_You're welcome to stay whenever you want, and for however long you like. Me and Ron have our own place now, but I think we'll be staying at the Burrow for a couple of weeks. Something amazing has happened, but it can't be explained in a letter. We'll tell you when you get here. _

_And here's our big piece of news – We're engaged! We wanted to wait and tell you we you got here, but we simply couldn't wait any longer. Will you be best man for us?_

_Where have you been though? The goblins say no one has taken anything out of your vault while you've been gone, so what have you been living on? _Where_have you been living?_

_Oops, sorry. We've asked an awful lot of questions. But it's only because we're worried about you. Please come back soon. It's not just us, everyone wants you back. Remus spends all his time searching for you and Ginny hasn't been the same since. _

_Write back as soon as you can, and tell us when you think you might get here, so we can get a room ready for you. Can't wait to see you again, _

_Your best friends,_

_Ron and Hermione _

"Is this okay?" she asked passing the letter round the table, so that everyone could read it.

Ron was the last to read it, and he chuckled when he came to the part about Harry being best man. "I guess Dean Thomas is out of a job, then."

Hermione smiled. "So is the letter all right?"

Ron nodded, and smiled at the worried expressions on the children's faces. He folded the letter in half and sealed it. "Don't worry." He said to them. "Everything will work out fine. Harry's been through everything bad on Earth, and he always gets away with it."

He stood up and stretched. "I'll go find Errol, then."

* * *

Harry woke in the middle of the night to a muffled banging at the window. Squinting at the clock, he saw it was half three in the morning.

He leapt out of bed when he saw the Weasley's old owl Errol hovering outside. Swearing as his shivering fingers fiddled with the latch, Harry finally managed to open the window and pull the ancient bird inside.

He greedily grabbed the letter from Errol's beak and set the owl down in Hedwig's cage. The snowy owl immediately moved over to make room for her old friend, and the two birds started to converse in calm and content hoots.

Harry ignored them and sank down onto his bed, pulling the sheets around him in an effort to stay warm. He opened the letter and started to read.

A smile appeared on his face.

By the end of the letter he was positively beaming.

Forgetting the time, Harry pulled his old Hogwarts trunk out of his wardrobe and started to pack.

* * *

I know it's short, but i hope you like it! Please review, even if it's only to say "This is good" or "This sucks." 


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Thank for all the reviews. Hope you enjoy this chapter. I found it really hard to write, I didn't have a clue about how to introduce them to each other. I've rewritten this chapter about three times. Please review and tell me if it's ok. But hey! It's still an extra long chapter!

heyhey: Thank you for your incredibly thoughtful review. Now you've mentioned it, I totally agree with what you've said, and I've tried to sort everything out in this chapter. Please tell me what you think!

Queenie

X x X

* * *

Harry walked over to his bookshelf and blindly pulled off a few books to read while he was at the Burrow, not caring what he chose. He walked over the worn carpet to his trunk and made to put them in his trunk. One of them missed and fell to the floor.

As he picked it up it fell open to the middle page. Harry gasped in surprise. It was the photo album Hagrid had given him after his first year of Hogwarts. It was filled with baby pictures of him, being held by his parents and a young, happy looking Sirius. He turned the page and smiled fondly.

It was a picture from when he was fifteen – of Christmas at Grimmauld Place. He was sitting on one of the old sofas, Sirius on one side of him and Ron and Hermione on the other. The rest of the Weasleys were gathered around them, smiling and laughing. But it was Sirius that Harry focused on. Because it was the only time that holiday Harry remembered his godfather looking truly content.

Remus was in the picture too, tucked away in the shadows, but Harry could make out the grin on his face, as he watched Tonks contort her hair and face into all sorts of shapes and styles. Harry wiped a tear from his eyes as he gazed down at Remus, filled with guilt. He should have let all his friends know that he was alive, that he was safe.

Harry turned the page and froze, uncertain whether he should slam the book shut. It was another picture of him and the Weasleys. It had been taken on Christmas day three years later, when he was eighteen, right in the middle of the war. He was chatting animatedly, absorbed in conversation with Fred and George. And sitting on the other side of the room, all alone, was Ginny. She seemed engrossed in a copy of Quidditch Through the Ages, but as he watched, she would keep flickering heart wrenching glances towards him. Then he remembered what Hermione had written in the letter.

_Ginny hasn't been the same since…_

He stood there for a moment, absorbed by the picture, and snapped the book shut and stuffed it back onto the bookshelf. "There's no point," he whispered to himself, "Sirius is gone, and there's no way he'll ever come back. And as for Ginny, how could she possibly want me back?"

Harry spun away from the shelf towards his wardrobe, and haphazardly stuffed a pile of richly embroidered robes into his trunk, then wiped his brow. With the radiators on and the morning sun shining in though the windows, it was almost like a furnace in his bedroom.

He pushed up the sleeves of his red shirt and slammed the trunk shut. But then he remembered the tattoo on his right arm, and quickly pulled that sleeve down again. He didn't want to think about the reunion with Ginny that had become inevitable.

Harry moved a couple of steps to the left and opened his sword cabinet, glancing over the contents. He didn't want to take a sword with him today – it reminded him too much of the war. Anyway, he was supposed to be meeting his friends, so Harry hoped he would have no need for one.

Still as he picked up his things and made his way through the hallway, he couldn't help feeling slightly awkward. He was so use to having a sword, or some other kind of weapon, by his side. Now all he had was his wand, tucked away in an unremarkable wrist holster.

Then he dragged the trunk and Hedwig's empty cage (she had set off for the Burrow with Errol earlier that morning) through the front door until he could feel the melting snow beneath his feet. The only reason there was snow here at all now was because he was so high up. The ski slopes were bare and the mountainside was covered in grass and mountain flowers. It looked like something out of a fairytale.

He took a deep breath of the fresh mountain air, and then, gripping his possessions tightly, spun around and vanished into thin air, reappearing thousands of miles away in the Weasleys front garden.

His trunk and owl cage tumbled onto the ground in front of him, and Harry staggered as he tried to stay upright. He looked up at the place that had been like a second home to him and moved eagerly towards the door, completely forgetting his trunk that lay in the grass.

The Burrow didn't seem to have changed at all. Although the garden seemed more organised and well kept, the house was still a ramshackle family home. An odd gnome wandered past Harry occasionally as he made his way to the door and a few chickens were pecking in the dust and squawking at each other.

Harry reached out and quietly turned the door handle. It seemed that someone had forgotten to shut the door the previous night. He frowned. Even though the war was over, there was no reason to be so lax about security.

He made his way through the kitchen to the living room, and sat down on of the overstuffed armchairs, wondering what to do next. It was still very early; he guessed the time was around six o'clock. He couldn't just run upstairs and bash down his friend's door, but he didn't want to sit around for hours waiting for someone to come downstairs and find him sitting there.

About five minutes later, the decision was made for him. He heard heavy footsteps on the stairs and sprang to his feet. Then the door opened, and standing there was – Ron.

There was a shocked, scared silence as they stared at each other.

"Harry…" said Ron. "You've come back…"

Harry smiled nervously. "Yep. It's- it's good to see you again, mate."

Ron smiled back, except he seemed to be petrified, like a deer caught in the headlights. But then they locked eyes, and Ron's smile turned into the familiar grin Harry was used to seeing. He strode forward and enveloped Harry in a bone crushing hug, and for no reason whatsoever, they both started to laugh.

Finally, Ron released Harry and pushed him back down into the armchair, then sitting on a similar one himself.

"Blimey, mate, you said you were coming back, but we didn't realise how soon you meant! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

Harry chuckled, but then Ron became serious. "Really though, Harry, where have you been? We've all been so worried."

"I'll tell you when Hermione and everyone else gets here. I'm sorry I didn't write before, but… I told you in my letter, I was afraid." Harry replied.

Ron rolled his eyes. "Bloody hell, Harry. No one was ever angry with you. Just worried. But please, don't ever do that again. Everyone missed you. So much."

"That's good to know. So how is everyone? What are Remus and Tonks up to these days? You wrote about Remus looking for me…oh! And congratulations to you and Hermione about the engagement! But tell me, while we wait for her to get up, you can tell me about the _really amazing thing_ she was talking about in her letter."

Ron's smile faded.

"Thanks," he said, "About the engagement. But I'm afraid I'm not supposed to tell you what's happened until-"

He was interrupted a loud voice coming down the stairs. Harry creased his bow, wondering who it could be. It sounded like the voice of a teenage boy, but not one he had ever heard before.

"Houseguests?" he asked. Before Ron could answer him, the boy had already started to yell.

"Ron!" The boy shouted. "Hey, Ron, I can't find the porridge, and I'm hungry-"

The look on Ron's face was one Harry could only describe as pure terror. "No!" he roared. "Jimmy! Don't come in-"

But it was too late the door had opened and standing in the doorway was a young boy Harry had seen only once before. He was instantly on alert. It was the boy from his dream, after his suicide attempt, one of those twins, with hair exactly like his, standing next to people who could have only been James, Lily and Sirius. The boy who had vanished into the flash of blue light.

When he saw Harry there he raised an eyebrow.

Harry flushed as the boy gave him a calculating stare. He was perfectly aware that he wasn't looking his best that day. His skin was ghostly white, eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep and his hair was sticking up all over the place. Not to mention his clothes were all rumpled, and he was only wearing a pair of jeans over his pyjamas, having come to the Burrow as fast as he could.

"Who are you?" Harry asked rudely, not liking the boy's patronizing gaze.

The boy scowled at him.

"I think a better question is, who the hell are _you_?" he replied, folding his arms. Ron's eyes flickered between the two of them, before hastily interrupting them.

"Don't answer him, not until-"

"I'm Harry Potter, now who are you?!"

The angry look left Jimmy's face instantaneously. "Um, erm, I'm-"

"Jimmy, get OUT!" yelled Ron, seeing Harry's red face and remembering Jimmy's big mouth.

For once, Jimmy did as he was told, and left the room, his hands trembling.

As soon as he was gone, Harry rounded on Ron. "Who the hell was that!? I've seen him before somewhere, who is he?!"

Ron gave a deep sigh and sank down into his armchair. "Harry, please. There's no way you could have seen him before, because he comes from a different world."

Harry blinked. "Huh?"

"Sit down, mate. I'll explain…"

* * *

Jimmy shut the door behind him and sat down on the stairs, still trembling all over. From inside the living room he could only hear Ron's voice talking patiently to Harry Potter – his brother. But Jimmy knew why he hadn't recognised him. Now he came to think about it, Harry did look extremely similar to his parents. He had their hair, eyes, even a voice like James'. 

It was the way he had acted that had made him seem different.

He had acted so tense, so tightly wound, stressed and tired. In that respect he looked nothing like James. His father had always been happy and healthy, even during the war, whereas Harry had red eyes with big dark circles underneath. He walked with a slight stoop, as if there was a heavy load there weighing him down.

He wasn't how Jimmy had imagined. Jimmy had been eight years old when his parents had first told him and Nate about Harry. He had always imagined his brother as a perfect Gryffindor – handsome, smart, prank loving but kind. The imaginary Harry was always there for him whenever he needed to talk, helped him with homework when he was struggling, and taught him and his twin brother new Quidditch moves in the back garden while Eva sat on the patio, reading.

Harry wasn't meant to be this bitter, angry person.

Jimmy sat there, his fists clenched in his lap, listening to the low rumble of Ron's voice. Occasionally Harry would exclaim loudly and he caught snatches of his side of the conversation.

"What?!"

"Yeah, very funny, Ron."

"Rowena Ravenclaw?"

"You liar!"

Their conversation grew quieter and Jimmy had to strain his ears to hear it. Then the voices stopped completely. Jimmy scowled and stood up, moving stealthily towards the door, then pressing his ear against the rusty keyhole. He heard Harry speak in a low, emotionless voice that scared him more than the shouting he had heard earlier.

"I will never have brothers or sisters. My parents and my godfather are dead, Ron. Nothing will bring them back. You have lied to me."

Jimmy backed away from the door and ran up the stairs, back to his room. He burst through the door, over to his twin's bed, and started to shake him. Nate moaned and turned away from him, burying his head under the pillow. Jimmy tugged it away from him.

"Nate, get up! He's here – Harry's here!"

Nate sat up straight. "What? I thought he was supposed to owl us before he got here?"

Jimmy sat down next to his twin. "Yeah. He was. But I went downstairs to get some breakfast and then go flying before it got too hot, and he and Ron were already in the living room. Ron yelled at me to stay out, but I went in anyway-"

"- you idiot!"

"Shut up. Anyway, I went in and he asked me who I was, really moodily, even though I hadn't done anything to piss him off. So then I asked _him_ who he was, and he said Harry Potter. So Ron goes and kicks me out the room before I could tell him who I was. I sat on the stairs, listening to what they were saying, and he was telling Harry what had happened and how we got here."

"But I thought we were going to wait until Remus was here to tell him!"

"I know." Said Jimmy. "But I think after he saw me he wasn't going to let it go until he knew everything. It was like he'd seen me before, or something. And once Ron had explained what happened he didn't seem very happy about it. He was yelling at Ron and calling him a liar."

Nate shrugged his shoulders. "I'm sure he'll be fine once Ron's explained everything to him. I mean, if someone had told me a couple of months ago that right now I'd be in another world where my deceased brother who I had never known was alive and well, I wouldn't have believed them either."

"Fair enough. But won't it be a bit awkward if it turns out he doesn't want to know about us? I mean, now Harry knows we'll have to tell the rest of the wizarding world. And we're going to Hogwarts soon. Everyone will be like, 'you're the famous Harry Potter's brother. What's he like?' And then we'll be like, 'oh, he doesn't want anything to do with us!'"

"Has anyone told you that you worry too much?" asked Eva from the doorway.

"Hey! How long have you been listening?" Jimmy exclaimed.

Eva smirked. "Long enough. You should learn to be quieter. You're lucky I was awake early enough to make sure the silencing charms in front of everyone's doors were still working.

"Thanks, sis."

Eva shut the door and came to sit on the bed, next to Jimmy. "So, Harry's back is he?" she said more quietly, playing with the frayed blanket on Nate's bed. "I'm sure he'll want us. Couldn't you tell from that letter he sent how much he wanted his friends back? And we're his _family_. He'll want us even more."

There was a significant pause, and then Jimmy spoke to his little sister.

"Huh. He'll want us. Do you really believe that?"

Eva looked up at him. "I – I don't know. Not really."

The three of them sat there for a moment, thinking. They knew they had no real knowledge of what Harry was really like. Everyone went on about how kind and selfless he was, how great he was, but what Jimmy had seen so far seemed totally different. He hoped his brother really was the person everyone made him out to be.

* * *

"Harry! Get back here!" 

Harry ignored Ron's yell as he stormed though the Burrow, blind with rage. Why was Ron doing this to him? His family was gone, nothing would bring them back. So why was Ron tormenting him like this? Was this what he had returned for – to be ridiculed by his old best friend? And that Jimmy person – who was he? _What the hell was going on?_

He could hear Ron chasing after him, stumbling and crashing into things in an effort to keep up with Harry. As soon as he had slammed the front door shut behind him, Harry raced towards the belongings that he had left scattered on the grass.

Harry's shouting and Ron's swearing seemed to have awoken some of the other people at the Burrow. He gathered his stuff together and turned to face them as they stood there staring at him.

Ron had stopped in defeat at the edge of the lawn, his eyes wide with despair. Harry's eyes avoided his gaze and instead moved to stare at his other best friend, Hermione. Her bushy, unbrushed hair hung over her face and she moved to hold Ron's hand, never looking away from Harry.

She offered him a weak smile, and without realizing, he smiled back at her, a sad, tired smile. She made no move towards him, and Harry understood that she didn't want him to come back until he was ready. Until he had found out all the facts. Just like she would have done.

Standing behind his friends was Mrs Weasley. She was dabbing at her eyes with a white handkerchief, but raised a hand and waved at him. Harry waved back.

Then he spun away from them and disapparated with a _pop_.

* * *

Harry reappeared about fifty miles away, in a dank brick alleyway. Pushing his hair out of his eyes, he walked out into the sunlight. 

Remus would tell him what was going on.

Hopefully.

* * *

Ok, it's not great, but it was the best I could do. Please review! 


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter…what a shame.

I'm alive!!!!!

Sorry it's taken me such a long time to update. I lost my USB stick with the entire next chapter on it, so I was feeling kind of uninspired, and didn't re-type this chapter until I was sure I couldn't find it. As a result, this chapter is much, much shorter than I would have liked, but I wanted to post it before I got totally sick of it.

Anyway. On with the story…

Chapter Eight

Harry made his way through the Muggle neighbourhood, lost in thought. He wandered slowly down the neat suburban streets that reminded him, quite disturbingly, of Privet Drive. The streets were quieter than he had expected: in a week or two, children would be on their way back to school, and they should have been outside, enjoying their last hours of freedom.

But the heat had been unbearable the last few days – the hottest summer on record. Up in the mountains, it had never been any warmer than about 20 degrees, and Harry was starting to feel uncomfortably sweaty.

As he turned a corner onto a street labelled Belladonna Lane, Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out a rather crumpled looking piece of paper.

Remus had given it to him a couple of weeks before his final battle with Voldemort – his old home had been destroyed by the Death Eaters and he had given Harry the address of his new house.

Harry stopped at a house at the end of the sheet, checking the bronze coloured numbered hammered on the door to the ones on his sheet of paper. Satisfied, he put the paper away and made his way up the gravel path to the door.

He could hear the sound of a radio pumping out rock music and the laughter of two familiar voices.

Through the glass window pane in the door, he could make out distorted shapes and colours. His heart gave a jump as he caught sight of Tonks' neon pink hair, and before he could change his mind, Harry knocked on the door.

The neon pink blur grew closer and Harry took a steadying breath as the door opened. But within a second he was chuckling as he watched Tonks trip over the doormat and land headfirst at his feet.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry," she gabbled as Harry leant down to help her up. "I do it every day, damned doormat-"

She broke off. "H- Harry?"

He gave her a small smile. "Miss me, Tonks?"

"You've come back at last! We thought we were never going to see you again!" she tossed her arms around his neck and he hugged her back, almost crying with relief. Then she pulled back and led him inside, tugging on his hand.

She led him into a small living room that joined onto the kitchen. Harry smiled to himself as he looked around at the belongings scattered round the room. It was extremely messy- there were books and magazines all over the furniture, laundry littering the floor. Tonks stepped clumsily over an Encyclopaedia of Transfiguration and a pile of jeans, calling out to Remus.

"Remus! He's back! Harry's come back!"

Harry stood quietly and nervously as Remus came into the room. He watched as the werewolf's amber eyes turned wide with disbelief. He felt his own eyes becoming wet at the sight of one of his oldest friends, and without warning his vision blurred. Within a second, Remus had dashed across the room and wrapped his arms around Harry as the young man sobbed into his shoulder. Neither of them noticed Tonks sneak quietly out of the room.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Remus heard Harry cry softly, and he didn't reply straight away but pulled him closer.

"There's nothing to apologise for. We all understand why you went away, everyone does. Don't worry about it."

Harry stepped back and wiped his eyes. Remus smiled and moved a pile of books off the sofa. "Sit down, Harry."

Harry sat down, and Remus collapsed down in an armchair opposite him. He looked at his sort-of-godson with interest. The boy had changed in the two years they hadn't seen each other. Harry hadn't grown at all, and was never going to have a chance of catching up with Ron. His round, out-of-fashion glasses were still perched messily on the end of his nose. But he seemed different. He watched as Harry twisted his hands together jumpily and as one of his red sleeves rode up he reached out and grabbed hold of Harry's wrist.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Harry asked irritably.

"What have _you_ been doing? These scars, Harry - where are they from?"

Harry yanked his arm away from Remus and pulled down his sleeves, so they covered up everything apart from his fingertips. He gazed pointedly down at the floor as he spoke.

"Those scars… they're the reason I came back to England. But they aren't what I came to talk to you about."

"Then what was your reason?" Remus asked curiously.

Harry sighed.

"I sent a letter to Ron and Hermione a few days ago, asking if I could come back and stay at the Burrow, and they wrote back saying yes. But they said I should send an owl before I left. I though it was just so they would have time to sort out a room for me, so I didn't bother, I didn't think they would mind. But now…now I don't think that was the reason. Because when I got there-"

He broke off, and Remus leant forward in anticipation. "Well? Then what happened?"

Harry shook his head. "You'll think I'm mad. That I'm making it up."

Remus gave him an encouraging smile.

"Tell me. I've believed all your other adventures before this, and some of them were quite extraordinary."

"Well, I was talking to Ron – no one else was up- and then this kid walked in. He looked about sixteen, kinda short, with black hair just like mine, but the thing was – _I'd seen him before_."

"Where?"

"In, um, a dream I had before I came back here. More of a vision than a dream, really. He was standing with a boy who must have been his brother, and another girl, and, Remus, my parents and Sirius were there too! Anyway, when the kid had gone away, I asked Ron what was going on. And Ron told me th- that he was my brother _from another world_! That my parents were alive, Sirius too. I mean, like I would believe that! What a – why are you shaking your head like that?"

Remus sighed and put his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Ron hasn't lied to you. You're his best friend, he never would. You should believe what he said, Harry, because it's true."

"What?!"

"In their world, you died as a baby, and as a result, Voldemort was never killed and the war went on. The Light side were quickly defeated and as a last hope the Dumbledore from that world sent the Potters and Sirius Black through to this world. Don't you see Harry, Ron was telling you the truth!"

"NO!"

Harry stood up forcefully, knocking over a mound of paper in his agitation, and turned to face Remus, his green eyes shining vigorously.

"My parents are dead, Remus. My godfather too. Nothing will bring them back! Even Dumbledore said so, after he'd destroyed the Philosopher's Stone. _There is no spell that will bring back the dead!"_

Remus started back at him, apparently unmoved by Harry's outburst. He motioned to the sofa Harry had just leapt off. His expression made it clear that he wasn't saying anything until Harry had calmed down. So, still breathing heavily, Harry sat back down on the sofa, looking up at the werewolf expectantly. Remus gave him a tired smile and began to talk in a low, calm voice.

"It wasn't a spell that brought them back. One of the founders of Hogwarts – Rowena Ravenclaw, they said – had made a pendant that would allow people to travel between worlds. Think about it, Harry. It's a second chance for you and them. You've always wanted a family. This is a chance for you to finally have one."

Harry snorted. "Even if you are telling the truth, one of my new "siblings" already hates me. What makes you think the rest won't?"

Tonks gave a short, amused laugh from the doorway, and the two men looked up at her in surprise.

"I don't think you need to worry about that, Harry. Remus and I have met them, and they seemed really nice."

"You've met them?" Harry repeated with a note of suspicion in his voice. "And you're sure they aren't…I don't know, Death Eaters, or impostors?"

Tonks sniggered and Remus rolled his eyes. "Don't worry Harry; no Death Eater could act as idiotically as Sirius did. So, what do you think? I know you've only just got back, but I think the sooner you met them, the better."

Harry gave a thoughtful nod, his face carefully schooled into an inexpressive mask.

"Ok." He replied. "I'll meet them, but I'm going to make up my own mind about whether to believe them or not."

Tonks clapped him on the shoulder as he stood up. "That seems fair enough."

* * *

"SNAP! I win!"

James groaned loudly. He and Sirius were sitting outside in the Weasley's garden, a pile of Exploding snap cards on the picnic table between them. It was about eleven o' clock, and the midmorning sun was pleasantly warm on their skin.

"Paddy," James said. "We've been playing this game for _three bloody hours_ now, and you winning all the time is getting a bit boring. Can't you go and play with one of the kids?"

Sirius grinned at his best friend. "I would if I could, mate. They're all much better players than you. But I can't find the twins anywhere, and Eva's been locked in her room all morning. Whenever I knock on her door she just shouts at me to go away."

James frowned. "I wouldn't worry about it too much, Padfoot. She's probably just nervous about going back to Hogwarts, and as for Jimmy and Nate, well; they've probably gone into the village."

Sirius still didn't look reassured. "Ron and Hermione have been acting all shifty too. They were up when I when to get a glass of water – at half six in the morning! – and whenever I try to talk to them they just look at me weirdly and go all quiet! Something happened this morning, James. I've got no idea what, but it was something important. We need to find out. Any ideas?"

"Maybe…maybe it was something to do with Harry."

Sirius looked up at him sharply, but James was staring up into the cloudless sky, his messy hair tugged around by the breeze. Sirius turned away from him, and gazed around at the garden. Magical plants overflowed from the flowerbeds, and the overgrown lawn was dotted with clover and daisies.

Sirius watched as a lone gnome scuttled across the crazy paving, centimetres away from his feet. It ran up the hill, and disappeared into a tiny tunnel dug into the hillside. As it vanished from view, his eyes carried on roaming up the hillside.

Suddenly, three silhouettes appeared at the top of the hill. Sirius squinted his eyes against the glare of the sun. Then he recognised two of the figures. He reached over and poked James in the stomach, then stood up and waved.

"Ow! What was that for?" James barked.

"Look James, its Remus and Tonks! But I don't know who the third person is…"

James came over to stand beside him as the figures approached. He grinned and both he and Sirius shook Remus' hand enthusiastically. Remus shook their hands back warmly, but he seemed preoccupied. Tonks had her arm linked through his, but the third figure was hanging back, as if he was nervous.

As Sirius, Remus and Tonks stared to chatter friendlily, James took the opportunity to examine the young man – the guy had his eyes downcast, starting resolutely at the floor. Even though he was standing directly towards the sunlight, James could still make out the boy's main features.

The more he watched, the closer he came to realizing who this boy was.

Black hair that seemed to defy gravity, broken glasses just like James'…

Remus cleared his throat, looking pointedly in James' direction. James stared back at him questioningly.

"I wasn't expecting to have to do this so soon, but never mind." Remus said heavily. "Harry, come here."

The black haired boy moved forward, entirely out of the sunlight. As he came to Remus' side and looked up, both James and Sirius gasped. The boy stared at them with inquisitive green eyes.

Green eyes.

Just like Lily.

"James, Sirius… I'd like to introduce you to Harry Potter."

* * *

Another chapter done. And what an awful cliffhanger! Sorry!!! Please review. I love to know what you think! 


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I still do not own Harry Potter.

Wow! Thanks so much for all the reviews. As you can see, they've inspired me to get this chapter out ASAP, even though it's my shortest one yet. It's taken me all day to write, so I hope you enjoy it. This chapter is for my best friend Kerry, for finally coming back from Africa. I missed you so much!

* * *

_Previously…_

_The black haired boy moved forward, entirely out of the sunlight. As he came to Remus' side and looked up, both James and Sirius gasped. The boy stared at them with inquisitive green eyes._

_Green eyes. _

_Just like Lily. _

"_James, Sirius… I'd like to introduce you to Harry Potter."_

Chapter Nine 

Earlier that morning…

Harry dragged his trunk up the narrow staircase of Remus' house. He pulled his trunk up the final step and dumped it on the bed in the spare room. His hands were shaking slightly as he undid the silver buckles and opened the lid. He pushed aside a box of Owl Treats and fished out some new clothes to change into. He wanted to make a good impression when he went to visit the Weasleys and their "guests".

He slipped on his favourite pair of black jeans and a pale blue t-shirt. After leaning down to lace up his trainers, Harry slid into his favourite pair of robes – deep blue with gold braid around the edges – and walked over to the mirror.

After spending a couple of minutes in a futile attempt to tame his hair, Harry made his way back downstairs, where Tonks and Remus were waiting for them, talking in low voices. They broke off their conversation as he entered the room.

"Ooh, Harry," Tonks said, smirking. "Very swish."

He gave her a sheepish grin. "Thanks."

Remus groaned. "Leave him alone, Tonks. You look fine, Harry, don't worry." He glanced down at his watch. "We should set off now if we want to get there before lunch."

As Remus locked the front door, Tonks linked her arm through Harry's. "Scared?"

"More like terrified."

"I don't think you should worry too much. I'm sure it'll turn out fine. I mean, when you're involved, things have a habit of doing that."

They walked down Belladonna Lane in silence. Harry wasn't feeling very reassured by Tonks' words and felt the bile ride in his throat as they approached the Apparation point. Remus and Tonks smiled at him as they span around and disappeared from the alleyway. He closed his eyes and vanished with a small _pop_.

"Harry…Harry Potter?"

Harry moved forward, next to Remus, and nodded his head gently in consent, his vivid eyes darting between Sirius and James. They looked so familiar, he thought to himself, especially Sirius. Just a few years older. My dad and my godfather, standing right in front of me.

And I don't have a clue what to say. No idea what to do.

For a few seconds, no one moved, and when Sirius glanced at Tonks he saw her biting her lip in anticipation, staring at Harry worriedly. There was a long awkward silence, and then Harry finally spoke.

"Remus said you came from another world. Is –is that really true?"

James continued to stare at Harry in shock, and as Sirius spotted the sudden glassiness of his best friend's eyes, he decided to intervene.

"Yes, that's right. It's…um…nice to meet you, Harry."

He held his hand out for Harry to shake. Harry reached out and took it. He gave a gasp as he took it, and the warmth from Sirius' hand travelled up his arm. Harry stared down in shock as Sirius released his hand, staring at Harry strangely. Harry didn't notice.

Sirius. He's real…

James snapped himself out of his stupor as Harry turned his attention to him, and James stepped closer to his son. He didn't notice Harry stiffen as he held a hand up to Harry's cheek, and before James could stop himself, he had pulled Harry into a tight hug, and he finally began to cry. For a moment, Harry stayed tense, but just as James was about to let him go, he realised that Harry was hugging him back, and that he was sobbing just as hard as James.

"Dad," he heard Harry choke into his shoulder, "it's really you…"

As James nodded, he heard the back door open and caught a glimpse of Lily and some of the Weasleys standing on the doorstep, staring at Harry. James slowly released Harry and propelled him round so he was facing Lily.

"Look, Lily. Harry's come back. Our son's come back!"

Lily moved down off the step. She didn't seem shocked at all – in fact she looked calm and serene. The wind tugged strands of her red hair across her face, but even if she noticed, she didn't seem to mind. She kept her eyes fixed on Harry and he gazed back at her intently.

"Hello, Harry."

* * *

Ginny Weasley strolled leisurely down the Royal Mile in the centre of Edinburgh, her hands stuffed deep in her jean pockets. The cobbled street was crowded with people, and she sighed as she glanced at her watch. Her Portkey back to Ottery St. Catchpole didn't leave until five o'clock. It was only noon, so she another five hours to waste.

She had just left her last ever meeting with the rest of her group – Alpha One- because the Ministry had decided to disband the group and send them back to their normal jobs. That meant that Ginny would be stuck behind a desk in London again, filling out forms for the Department of International Magical Cooperation.

She was not looking forward to it.

Remus had sent them an owl early that morning, informing Alpha One that he had made significant progress on the Harry Potter case, and there was no need for them to carry on searching. She wondered what had happened, and what was going on back home. She was itching to get back there.

It was stupid, thought Ginny, that she wasn't allowed to Apparate between Scotland and England. But Wizarding Scotland was totally separate to England – it was even ruled by a different government. The borders were fiercely guarded and rogue Apparators were dealt with harshly. She wasn't going to risk it.

She spotted a bench a few metres down the street and made her way over to it. Ginny sat down and pulled a small leather purse out of her shoulder bag. She opened it and frowned. Only ten pounds left. She scowled as she remembered the many shopping bags littered across her bed in her hotel.

She sighed and leant back, closing her eyes and tilting her head back towards the sun.

All around her people were laughing and joking, walking past her without a second glance. She hoped Remus really had made some good progress on finding Harry. There were thousands of people here, in Edinburgh alone. When she thought about how many people there were in the world, the chances of finding Harry seemed incredibly slim.

"Ginny? That you?"

Ginny started in surprise and snapped her brown eyes open. "Charlie?! What are you doing here?"

Her older brother chuckled and sat down next to her. "Working, of course! We got some reports of a rogue Hebridean Black dragon up on the moors, so me and the others got dragged out here to catch it and Modify the memories of the Muggles that saw it. But what about you?"

"A meeting with work."

"Oh yes, your "I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you" job."

Ginny whacked him playfully on the head as she giggled.

"I wish you would stop calling it that. Anyway, I guess it doesn't matter what you call it now. Now we've completed everything we had to do after the war, we've been disbanded by the Ministry, and everyone's going back to their normal jobs."

"Oh." Said Charlie. There was a small pause, and then he asked, "Ginny…your work, was it something to do with Harry?"

She turned to look at him, puzzled. "Why would you think that?"

"I don't know, really. It was just a feeling." He shrugged.

"Well, you're right."

"I am?"

"Yes. My group…we were trying to find him. Only a couple of weeks we tracked him down to a little village in Bulgaria, but when our agents got there, apparently there was no sign of him. Then Remus – he does some work with us – owled us this morning, saying he'd made some important progress on the case. So it looks as if we're getting close. But – even if we do find him – I don't know what I'd do then."

"Why?"

Ginny turned to look at her brother fixedly. "It's been two years since I saw him, Charlie. I wasn't exactly his favourite person when he left."

"So he's have had two years to get over it. Don't worry, Gin. He hasn't turned up yet, so I'm sure he'll wait a bit longer. And in the meantime, why don't you let me buy you lunch? You look starving."

* * *

What do you think? Please feed the Review Monster! 


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